The Love Of The Father – Kerrin Wallis [02/09/2018 AM]

The Sermon on the Mount

Key Scripture: Mat 5, 6, and 7

Kerrin started by honouring his father for the sacrifices and love he gave to his boys.

He was taught: “Love me for who I am, not for who I’m not”

Matt 5 -7 – The Beatitudes

The Beatitudes are not a set of rules to be wielded like a big stick or thrown at you to make your life difficult.

They are there to show us how loving our Heavenly Father is towards us.

They encourage us to ‘Turn the other cheek’ and ‘Go the second mile’, but it also give us The Lord’s Prayer and shows us that we have treasure in Heaven. They also show us not to worry and to develop good fruit.

We can never be perfect. We just don’t measure up but the best thing is we don’t have to measure up.

15 times in the Beatitudes it uses the word – Father.

When we look at the Beatitudes as a set of rules, we miss the message that God is our Father!

When we have approval of a loving Father, we don’t need to look for approval from other inappropriate relationships

Mat 6:34

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God is a loving father and we are His loving children. The passage is about the Father explaining that He wants the best for his kids.

Let’s look at God our Father and endeavour to show Him to others.

We need a heart of the Father to show to other people

1. He wants to bless us

Mat 5:3-12 (NKJV)

Ps1:1-2

David was a man after God’s own heart.

Children copy their fathers – it’s just natural.

Kerryn’s son Boston was hitting their dog Max and after Kerryn had told Boston not to do that as it would hurt him, Kerryn realised that when he played with Max he patted him hard on the back and tummy – Boston was only doing what he thought Dad was doing.

Kids want to be like their Dad.

We should be like our Heavenly Father – He is good.

Do we live to bless others?

Are we critical of others?

God knows we are not perfect.

He says ‘You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth’ because He loves us.

Do we encourage others, bless others and show God to others?

God’s message for Father’s Day and always is ‘I want to bless you’.

Blessed are the:

Poor in spirit

Those who mourn

The meek

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

The merciful

The pure in heart

The peacemakers

Those who are persecuted for righteousness

That is all of us. You can still be blessed and not be in good circumstances.

Nothing external can rob us of His love.

2. He wants to be known

Mat 6:5-9

6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Our relationship with family and others is the most important thing. Every other hat is centred in relationship.

We must understand that God is Our Father.

Boston is being taught responsibilities and has to pick up his clothes, hang the towel up after a bath, take the recycling out, but he doesn’t always get it right.

As long as he remembers that Kerryn is his father and that he loves him, that’s all that matters.

Remembering God is our Father is the most important thing, nothing else matters.

Mat 7:21-23

22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.

God wants to know you. He wants us to know Him. Talk to Him, get to know Him.

We need to acknowledge that God is our Father otherwise it is the beginning of lawlessness.

3. Our Father sees us

Kerryn and his brothers were playing in a tunnel under the road and he was thinking parents didn’t know. He forgot that his mother saw the state of his dirty clothes and she knew where the boys had been.

We think God doesn’t know what we are doing, but He does.

Mat 6:4, 7-8 (NLT)

A giving and providing God

God is not a spy cam watching your every move trying to catch you out. He’s got the heart of a loving Father. He sees the challenges we face, the failings.

He calls us to greater strength. He sees our dreams, desires and actions.

Don’t beg from Him– come to Him as a loving faithful father.

Mat 2:26 (NLT)

Our Father sees all!!!

Kerryn showed a video clip of American man Dick Hoyt and his son Rick. Rick was born disabled, but with the help of a computer is able to talk to his Dad. He expressed the desire to participate in a Triathlon. His father pushed him in his wheelchair as he ran, carried him on his back as he swam and rode on his bike with a special seat for Rick. The crowd clapped and cheered as they passed the finish line.

Dick Hoyt displayed the most wonderful attributes of a father’s love for his son.